Chapter 97

Just then the door opened and Albus stepped inside, followed by Percy Weasley and three aurors Lily hadn't seen before.

"I'm here to take Sirius Black into custody for the murder of Mr Vorlost Goyle"

The arrogant behaviour of Percy Weasley brought tears to Lily's eyes once more, but this time it was tears of righteous anger.

The little boaster.

A quick look at Albus confirmed that the older wizard had not very pleasant feelings for the parvenu either but he couldn't openly show it. While the former headmaster bent down to comfort Lady Tanya, Lily grabbed Percy's arm and tried to drag him outside.

"I have to inform you, that Sirius Black will never go to prison again. There's nothing for you to do anymore" she said with an icy voice and a pointed look.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to make sure that it's not a trick" he answered her in a sickening business-like fashion.

Before Lily could hold him back, he had knelt down next to Sirius body and checked his pulse.

"He's really dead" he commented with a hint of surprise in his voice

This finally did Lady Tanya in totally. She pulled Sirius head in her lap and desperately put kiss after kiss on Sirius cooling lips. The sight in front of her made Lily sad and angry beyond belief. Her heart went out to the dark-haired witch and she wanted to ensure a moment of privacy for her. Resolutely she grabbed Percy's arm and finally dragged him out of the door.

When finally the ministry officials were taken care of, Lily returned to Sirius rooms. She found a very collected Lady Tanya, sipping a cup of tea; only her white knuckles told her distress. James had taken Sirius body to the bedroom and was returning just when Lily entered.

They had decided that they wouldn't tell Harry until the next morning, because he surely wouldn't sleep at night otherwise. Albus had withdrawn earlier to prepare a little reception for Sirius the next morning.

"Are you sure it is wise not to tell Harry the whole story?" Lily questioned after they had settled in their rooms.

"Harry wouldn't understand it, dear. He might make it worse than it has to be"

He gave his wife a knowing look.

"Don't worry, Lily. All will be ok"

In the morning, Lily had cancelled her classes with Dudley and ordered Harry to their rooms. She wasn't sure what exactly to tell him. The truth was not an option. But what then? She ran her hands through her auburn hair and sighed.

Why couldn't it been like in the fairy tales she had been reading as a child.

And they all lived happily ever after.

This was never going to happen; and most definitely not as long as Voldemort was out there and a spy was giving out their secrets. A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts.

Harry entered and she heaved a sigh trying not to show him the difficulty of this situation. However the boy was not making it easy for her.

"Where's Sirius? I haven't seen him this morning at breakfast"

Lily pulled her son down on the couch next to her.

"My dear, Sirius isn't – here – anymore. You won't seen him at breakfast again"

"But where did he go without even saying goodbye?" he questioned irritated.

"He's gone Harry"

The boy-who-would-like-to-die-now looked at her in disbelief when his mother's words hit home.

"No it can't be… it can't" he whispered blankly.

Just then Lily couldn't do anything but hold him while he shook in her arms, too shocked to even cry. While she stroked his hair, she wondered how he would take it when he would get to hear the whole story one day. Harry thought that his breakfast would come right back when he finally realized what his mother had told him.

He didn't return to classes that day.

Wandering around on the grounds, his emotions switched from fury to hurt to sorrow and finally to oblivion.

It wasn't true.

Sirius had run off somewhere and just faked his death. As long as he wouldn't see his dead body, he would never believe it. He had come across enough 'dead' people in his life to not trust what he didn't see with his own eyes. His father had told him that there would be a small ceremony this afternoon and he was supposed to attend it if he had the strength to go through the whole ordeal.

He wandered along the greenhouses, trying not to be seen by Professor Sprout or one of the students. Harry didn't want to see Hagrid nor anybody else at the moment. Hermione and Ron had tried to comfort him, but he couldn't talk to them. Hermione had tears in her eyes and Ron had been unusually quiet. He wanted to stay in his dream world of not believing as long as possible.

At first he had tried to sneak out to Hogsmead and get a few butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks, but he couldn't find the Map and so he didn't dare to use the secret passageway. Then he had thought about breaking into Hagrid's shed and get his hands on the firewhiskey he knew was stored there. However just when he came around the greenhouses, he saw Hagrid coming back from the forest.

He cursed silently and withdrew into the shadows.

Harry skipped lunch and finally after it seemed liked he had walked to London and back, he returned to the castle. Kayla had just returned from the dungeons after Advanced Potions, when he entered the entrance hall. The concerned look in her eyes annoyed him. He didn't want to be pitied.

All he wanted was to be left alone.

During his long walk, he had decided that he would attend Sirius' memorial service. Even when he couldn't make himself truly believe that his godfather was dead, he knew that he had to be there. He ignored the hurt look on his cousin's face, when he turned towards the sanctuary of Gryffindor tower. Until the memorial service, he wanted to sit on his bed and not see or hear anybody else.

"Hey mate, you're ok?" Ron called out to him when he crossed the common room and rushed up the steps without giving an answer.

"Honestly Ron, how do you think he's feeling right now? Sirius meant a lot to him and he couldn't even say good bye. Nobody is telling us anything. We don't know how he died or why… Oh my god…he must feel awful"

The last bits of the sentence where interrupted by hiccups and sobs when Hermione turned towards Ron for comfort.

"Why isn't he talking to us? Or to anybody else? His mother should know what has happened"

Kelsey rolled his eyes from his place on the armchair opposite of Ron.

"He talked to his mother; McGonagall told me as much. It seems that there's a evident reason why they're not saying more. I've heard that it was suicide, but maybe he had help there?"

Hermione looked at Kelsey and pulled back from Ron.

"What do you mean? He might had help from somebody?"

"Well, you know the walls are thin at Hogwarts. I've heard that he has committed suicide with a very strong poison. What if he just wanted to fake his death and someone had other plans" Kelsey said with a pointed look at Hermione.

"Don't be ridiculous, Kelsey. You're not implying that Professor Snape has killed Sirius" the prefect snapped. "This is impossible. He would never do something like that"

However this statement from Kelsey had obviously sparked Ron's interest on the matter.

"Think about it Hermione; I don't know anybody who hates Sirius more than Snape"

"Professor Snape" Hermione corrected him indignantly.

"Whatever" Ron said dismissively. "Who has access to all kind of poisons?"

Triumphantly he looked around and found disbelief on Hermione's face and awareness on Kelsey's.

"Ron that is insane. You just pointed out that Snape hated Sirius and I'm sure that this worked vice versa just as much. Do you really think that Sirius would have accepted anything from Snape? Especially something as ambiguous as a fake poison? I honestly doubt it" Hermione said sternly and Ron's smug expression faltered immediately.

"Has it ever occurred to one of you that it might be not revealed to us because it doesn't concern us?"

Kelsey's head turned around and spotted his sister standing behind him. Without further ado, she took a seat next to Hermione.

"Is he upstairs?" she said quietly.

Hermione nodded; there was no need to ask who Kayla was talking about.

"I just hope McGonagall will turn a blind eye on the fact that he has missed all classes today" the mahogany-haired girl stated.

"Well, Snape most definitely did. He excused Goyle from all classes for today. The Slytherins have been on a rampage all day. The fact that Dumbledore is holding a memorial service for someone who has killed one of their parents will not be very good for his reputation" Ron said.

"You know that Albus Dumbledore has never given much about his reputation as long as they don't take him off the chocolate frog cards" Sir Nicholas chimed in.

The ghost had floated through the floor and seemed quite interested about the discussion.

"I expect that you're all attending the memorial reception for our courageous fellow Gryffindor"

Harry's friends had already decided that the indeed would attend the reception to give the Potters and Lady Tanya their support. When it was time to leave Kelsey carefully entered the dormitory, seeing if Harry wanted to join them. The black-haired boy sat on his bed with a grim expression, lips tight and eyes almost closed, holding the pensieve with the memories of the marauders; Sirius Christmas present.

"Are you coming, Harry?" his cousin asked cautiously not daring to move closer. He didn't want to pressure him.

Harry didn't move, so Kelsey heaved a sigh and left. It was hard for him to see his friend in such a state, but he new that Harry would need his own time to accept the situation. Thirty minutes later they were all assembled at the lake. Dumbledore was standing next to a hip-high pedestal that was covered by a large velvet cloth.

Hermione, Ron, Kelsey and Kayla stood beside Lily and Molly Weasley. Arthur Weasley had resigned in favor of James, so he could attend the ceremony in disguise. Harry had positioned himself next to the large willow, not far away from the strange pedestal. It hurt Lily very much that her son was dissociating himself from everybody else like that. She wanted to give him comfort and tell him why and how everything has happened. At this moment Harry looked so much like Snape it scared her. His face wore a terrible scowl and his arms were crossed in front of his chest while he waited for the ceremony to begin.

The auburn-haired witch was surprised about how many people had arrived to pay their last respects to Sirius. It seemed that all Gryffindors from year 5 on were here, along with a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. The Slytherins were absent except of Severus of course who had to attend as part of the staff. Lily's heart went out to Remus and Hagrid, who both blamed themselves for what had happened. No matter what Lily and James had said, nothing changed their opinion.

The grey afternoon sky resembled the mood of most of the assembled and rain would be the only thing left to complete the desperate atmosphere. Dumbledore started to speak and her attention concentrated on the old wizard.

"We're assembled here to honor a great wizard. He had to take desperate measures to avoid another arrest and these measures included taking his own life. He was an honorable man and a great friend to all who were dear to him. We will all sorely miss him, not only as a friend but also as a precious asset in our fight against evil"

Lily heard the silent sobs of Lady Tanya, who was clinging to Remus for dear life. The witch was only a shadow of her cheerful self and she looked older like ever before.

"This was one of Sirius Black's favourite places and his friends and I have chosen this place to put up an everlasting reminder of how treachery and prejudice can ruin a person's life in a heart beat"

James was very grateful for the kind words of Dumbledore. He was one of the only people who had believed in Sirius' innocence after his escape from Azkaban and this recognition of his friend's efforts for the fight of good against evil was what he truly deserved. His eyes travelled from the assembled staff members to Tonks, who was the only ministry official allowed to attend because she was Sirius cousin, then to Harry's little group of friends and then to Harry himself.

The expression of loss and sorrow were more or less pronounced, except on Snape's face, who looked as annoyed as ever, but Harry looked nothing but angry. He wished he could help his son in some way and ease his pain but it was impossible. Just then Dumbledore pulled away the cloth and revealed a white stone with a picture of Sirius inlaid in the marble.

Hagrid started sobbing loudly and dabbing his eyes with something that looked like a blue-white tablecloth when he saw Sirius portrait grinning at him broadly. Shaken with tears, the half-giant stumbled backwards and fled to the sanctuary of his hut.

Dumbledore's voice rang loud over the plain when he spoke again after a few moments of silence.

"This man has died for a greater cause, the fight against evil. No matter how much we tried to save him, the minions of evil have succeeded at last. But this was the last time!"

Everybody could hear the suppressed anger in the voice of the old wizard. The man who was standing there was not the friendly old fool so many believed him to be, but the wizard who had defeated Grindlewald. He seemed stronger and taller than ever when he continued.

"Sirius sacrifice was not in vain. It should spur us on to double our efforts against the evil which is trying to overtake us. We will fight together and revenge him and free our world from the evil that threatens all of our existence"

Harry felt that Dumbledore's speech had directed his anger towards the real culprits, Voldemort and Fudge. He suddenly felt a little bit more at ease; Sirius wouldn't be forgotten and it was his sincere intention to revenge him just as Dumbledore had said. His anger towards his parents, Remus and Hagrid and Dumbledore and just about everybody else assembled here slightly calmed when he ran his hands over the stone at the end of the ceremony.

While the others slowly walked back to the castle in silence, he remained behind and sat down in front of the stone.

He rested his head against the marble and whispered "They will pay…they'll all pay"

He felt a hand on his arm and spun around.

"Come with me Harry, you need to rest and we both need to talk about some things"

For the first time since he had heard about Sirius fate, he felt something like gratitude for his father. James helped him up from the cold grass and the walked back to the castle together in quite comfortable silence. The rest of the day, Harry spent with his parents and his close friends from Gryffindor. Especially Ron and Hermione were very relieved that Harry seemed to have finally accepted the facts. They shared the memories in the pensieve, while Remus and James recalled other adventures they went through when they were older.

In the end, Harry felt a little more at ease when he went to bed that evening, but when he laid there in the dark, the sore spot in his chest was back. He pinched his eyes together and tried to force the tears back before he fell in an exhausted sleep.

Minerva McGonagall was pacing in her office, glancing ever so often out the window. Every time she did so, her eyes rested on Sirius memorial. The white marble stone shone bright in the early rays of sunlight at the beginning of another stressful day.

I'm getting to old for that, she thought and organized the papers on her desk for about the 5th time since she had entered the office an hour ago.

Just then, the door burst open and Minerva's head perked up.

"Irma!" she all but shouted when she saw the strict librarian in the door. Her hair was wild where it had escaped her normally firm bun. Her eyes were wide in shock and she looked even more like an underfed vulture at the moment. The headmistress wondered what had brought the witch in her office just after dawn. Normally she would only leave her library if someone forced her out of it The librarian dashed forward and grabbed Minerva at the sleeve of her robes and pulled frantically.

"Come on Minerva, you have to see that" she called with a high-pitched voice.

It disturbed the headmistress severely seeing her long-time staff member in such a state. So she had no other choice than to follow Madame Pince out of her office and along several corridors. The librarian hesitated in front of the closed door to the library.

"What are you waiting for?" the headmistress called. "I thought you wanted to show me something"

Irma Pince nervously ran her hand through her hair, and then with a shaky voice she said "I have found her a few minutes ago, just like that. I didn't touch anything"

That confused Minerva even more. "What? Who did you find? Let me pass!"

With more energy than she thought herself capable of so early in the morning, she pushed the librarian aside and entered. Her eyes skimmed the room and at first she couldn't see anything strange. It looked normal; all the books were on the shelves, the desks weren't broken and she couldn't see anybody in there.

What was the woman talking about?

Then a disgusting smell and a cold breeze caught her attention and she walked further inside. When she reached Madame Pince desk, she recognized that the witch had followed her and pointed at the little bay window to the right. She gasp at the sight and held on to the desk for support.

A body in black robes was lying on the window sill; the window was broken totally and only a few fragments were still attached to the frame. She stepped closer, lifting up the hem of her robes to make sure it didn't get stained with the blood that was pooling on the floor. The headmistress saw that the person's head wasn't inside the castle anymore but was dangling outside, the long black hair waving in the morning breeze.

What made her gag was the fact that a big glass fragment had almost cut the head from the neck. It looked like a scary imitation of Sir Nicholas.

"Irma, would you please fetch Professor Snape for me?" McGonagall said with a shaky voice before she sat down on a chair next to the main desk.

The librarian again rushed out of the room in search for the potion master. Minerva couldn't muster the strength to get up and investigate any further. So many people were dying although in this case it wasn't a big loss. Another member of the Black family had deceased in a matter of days. She heard the rustling of robes and turned around.

The potion master had arrived and stood behind her in his usual reserved composure. Minerva forced herself off the chair and led Snape closer to the scene of crime.

"Do you have an idea what she was doing here and how in Merlin's name she could get on the grounds once again?" she said with a strained voice.

"My apologies, Minerva, but I have no clue what brought her here" Severus replied indifferently.

"Well then, we have to inform the rest of the staff including Argus and hold a meeting" the headmistress exclaimed and turned to the librarian once more.

"Irma, the library is closed until we have taken care of this"

With that she left the room followed by Snape and Pince. Outside, she sealed the door with extra wards which would only allow staff members to enter. A few minutes later, everybody was assembled in the staff lounge.

"As you've undoubtedly heard already, we have yet another fatality in the castle. This time it is Bellatrix Lestrange. She has been almost decapitated by a glass fragment from the window she has fallen through." Minerva informed.

The other staff member didn't look very touched by the news, yet more annoyed by the fact that it had to happen at Hogwarts again.

"Has anyone of you seen anything strange inside or in front of the library last night?" Albus inquired, but the teachers were shaking their heads.

Dumbledore stroked his chin in thought before he continued.

"Severus has tested the blood with one of his detection potions and has determined the time of her death around ten in the evening."

Then he turned towards Madame Pince and asked "Irma, who was the last person in the library and when?"

The librarian arched her eyebrows and pinched her lips together.

"Well, Irma… would you answer Albus' question please?" the headmistress said impatiently.

Madame Pince looked a bit uncomfortable but finally replied.

"I had just been finished with dusting the last of my books when one of the Ravenclaws stormed inside the library. It was past 9:30 already and that meant it was past curfew. I scolded her for being out so late and retrieved the book she had brought back"

"Who was it and did you see her leave, Irma?" Dumbledore inquired further.

"Well, it was Zara Rawle; however I cannot answer what she has done after I have received the book. I put it in its place and when I returned she was gone"

Albus nodded thoughtfully and put his fingertips together.

"Has anybody else seen something unusual?"

"Professor Dumbledore, I have seen one of those pratty Gryffindors in the library corridor last night. That Longbottom boy was there well after 10 o'clock. My precious here-" he patted Mrs Norris head "- has sniffed him out"

"I can explain that" Severus spoke up now. Minerva was quite upset about the fact that one of her Gryffindors could be a suspect in this terrible situation.

"Mr Longbottom was serving detention with me last night and I didn't dismiss him before 10:08"

"I can't believe that either Ms Rawle or Mr Longbottom would be able to kill somebody. That's ridiculous", Remus called and shook his head vehemently.

"Both students are too shy to even approach a deatheater let alone kill one"

"Well, we have to take into consideration that both students have suffered at length from Lestrange –"

"Professor Flitwick! You can't honestly assume that Ms Rawle or Mr Longbottom are involved in this. The girl is in your house!" Minerva all but yelled. The little charms teacher sunk back in his chair under the murderous glare of Snape and McGonagall.

"I wasn't implying anything, my dear" he chirped in Minerva's direction.

"Well, Albus, how do you think we should proceed from here?" Remus interrupted the banter.

"Under normal conditions, I would report it to the ministry, but unfortunately Fudge can't be trusted and I don't know who else is involved"

The old wizard saw the surprised look on the staff members' faces.

"Severus and I have come to the conclusion that Cornelius is the only possibility. He was the only one who knew all about the wards at Hogwarts, the change of schedule of the Hogwarts Express at the end of the first term and only he could have twisted the facts that resulted in Sirius' accusation like that"

With a sigh he continued.

"As long as we are not totally sure, we cannot contact anybody in the ministry who we aren't sure is on our side. However, Arthur isn't of any help here, neither are the aurors; I'm positive that this was not a deed of one of Voldemort's minions"

His fellow staff members nodded in agreement.

"Well, this means that we will have to solve this problem on our own. I sincerely doubt that the ministry would interfere anyway. Bellatrix Lestrange is in Azkaban, or this at least is the ministry's version." Minerva said acidly and silently cursed Fudge for the 1000th time in two days.

Then she dismissed the rest of the staff to get ready for the day's classes. Severus and Albus returned to the library; there had to be a clue about who did it. Bella Lestrange's corpse was wet from the rain that had started to pour down. It pooled and mingled with the blood on the floor and made the scene even more gruesome. Her face was distorted with surprise and pain, one hand grasped around her wand while the other obviously had tried to pull the glass out of her throat. The potion master doubted that the death had come quickly and painless for the misguided witch and a part of him was happy about it. Her white face and hands contrasted strongly with the black of her deatheaters robes and the red blood on the floor.

One of the muggle fairy tales came to his mind

Once upon a time in mid winter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a beautiful queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed, she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red on the white looked so beautiful, that she thought, "If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as this frame." Soon afterward she had a little daughter that was as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony wood, and therefore they called her Little Snow-White.

The first time he had met Bellatrix he had thought just the same. She looked exactly like he had pictured Snow White but her cruel heart matched more the evil stepmother. Once more he wondered if she would- if they all would have been different – better- people if the superiority of the Purebloods wouldn't have been fed to them with their mother's milk. He tore his eyes off the witch and started to look around like Albus had done since they'd arrived, trying to find something that would solve the mystery. Then something on the floor caught his attention. With one swift movement he picked it up and just a moment later he was out through the door in a whirl of black robes. Albus just chuckled and shook his head. Once more the man reminded him of a panther on the hunt.

Unlike his usual manner, Severus walked quite slowly; not the long and fast strides that usually carried him through the castle. Thinking about what he had just discovered he turned the little piece of paper around in his hand, feeling its material as if the simple touch could answer all the questions that came up inside his quick working mind. It was a sweet wrapper, but not just any sweet wrapper. This was something different. He had seen this particular sort before and he knew who exactly was in possession of those.

When he reached the dungeons, he ordered one of the house-elves to fetch the student he wanted to talk to. Just few minutes later, a knock on the door startled him out of his deep thoughts.

"Come in"

He recognized the scared look on the boy's face. Not that it really surprised him though. He had every reason to be scared. Putting his scowl firm in place, he beckoned the boy to sit down.

"I trust you've heard about Bellatrix Lestrange's inglorious end in the library"

His opposite nodded, then a flash of anger crossed the student's face and he growled "Yes and she deserved every bit of it"

Snape arched his eyebrows at this statement.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

The student shook his head forcefully and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Guess what I have found at the scene of crime?" Severus sneered and placed the gum wrapper on the table.

The boy jerked back in badly disguised shock and surprise and exclaimed stubbornly "This could have been dropped by anyone"

"Well everyone who has access to this special sort of candy"

"Professor, I know at least 20 students who have eaten just that sort of sweet in the last 48 hours alone"

"Yes but not one of those students would have survived around Bellatrix Lestrange long enough to kill her. This could have only been you"

He looked at the cagey look on the boy's face and now tried to approach him directly.

"Draco, pray tell me what happened last night in the library"

The young Slytherin heaved a sigh.

"It wasn't really my intention and I didn't kill her… it sort of happened"

"Boy, don't try my patience. Either you'll tell me what happened or I'll retrieve the important details on my own"

"Well, I snuck out last night." Draco explained hesitantly. "I wanted to talk to my mother. So many things have happened lately. I couldn't use the fire in the common room so I wanted to use the one in the library " His voice trailed off. Snape tapped the top of his desk impatiently with his fingertips and was about to prompt him vigorously when Draco continued.

"I just entered the library when she stumbled out of fireplace – "

Snape interrupted him sharply "She used the floo network?"

Draco ignored the question and continued.

"I tried to hide behind some bookshelves but she spotted me nevertheless. The way she looked at me scared the living daylight out of me."

He leaned forward and his breath was ragged and quick.

"Professor Snape, the look in her eyes was pure madness. She screamed that she wanted to get her hands on Sirius Black, what she wanted to do to him, in what a gruesome way she wanted to kill him.

I always liked Aunt Bella when I was little, she was kind to me then and I really didn't believe that all I've heard about the things the deatheaters did was true… until I saw your…your"

Severus truly wondered how a person as crazy as Bellatrix Lestrange could ever be kind to somebody, but she was a true Slytherin and he didn't doubt that she had been a master in disguise back in the days. Besides, little children were easy to impress.

"But last night in the library, she asked me where Black was and when I told her that he was dead, she screamed and raged. Well, she obviously didn't believe me. She came closer and closer and I backed away, she tried to force me to tell her the truth. After a little while, she changed totally. She was back to the kind woman I knew from my childhood, but her eyes gave her away. Then she asked about you, Professor. She wanted me to bring her to you. In her opinion you're also responsible for my uncle's death. Then she had me pinned against the wall and screamed that this whole place was a rat nest full of traitors and scum and she had to rescue me. Before I could do something she had seized me by the wrist and pulled me towards the fireplace. I'm sure she wanted to take me to You-know-who."

Snape's eyes widened in surprise. The first thing he'd have to do was a long talk with Dumbledore and McGonagall. He snapped back to attention when Draco continued.

"I tried to stun her but she blocked my spell and pulled me further. Then I tried the Cruciatus curse, but it didn't last long enough. I was too scared and shocked. She laughed at me and told me how much I still had to learn to be good enough to follow in my father's footsteps. I tried to crucio her again and this time it lasted long enough to yank my arm out of her grip. I ducked behind a shelf and shot another stunning spell at her, but I missed. The spell hit the window and it broke. Then she tried to curse me but I could block it and cast a Leg Locker on her. She tumbled backwards and fell into the window. I still hear her laughing at me, calling me pathetic little twit and worse. Then the big glass fragment came out of the frame like a guillotine."

Snape took a deep breath and quickly let the air out through his nostrils.

"Why did you not talk to me after it happened? Are you so afraid of me?" Snape said with the most collected and softest voice he could muster, which wasn't something he was used to.

"Professor, I'm not afraid of you… not THAT much. I was just scared that I would be sent to jail when it comes out that I've killed her… or the dementor's kiss, or what He-who-is-my-worst-nightmare would do to me when he finds out"

"Well Mr Malfoy, the ministry will not be informed about this. In their opinion Lestrange is still in Azkaban" Snape sneered. "However, you acted in self-defence and nobody can deny this. We all know what kind of person Lestrange was. The Dark Lord will not hear about this. Nobody but Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and I will ever hear the real circumstances of last night's events."

The look on Draco's face relaxed visibly.

"You may go to class now but I expect you back here tonight at 7 sharp for your detention"

The Slytherin arched one eyebrow in surprise.

"You haven't really expected that you'd get away with that stunt you pulled with Mr Dursley. Be grateful that I don't take points today for sneaking out after curfew" he said firmly and rose from his chair.

The Slytherin prefect interpreted that as dismissal and bowed his head quickly. Snape watched the boy leave before he went on his quest to find Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"Please tell me how you've found out that it was Mr Malfoy so quickly?" Dumbledore asked him, astonishment written all over his face.

Snape turned his gaze from the headmistress to the old wizard and explained.

"I found this sweet wrapper on the floor of the library. It must have fallen out of his robes during his run-in with Bellatrix. I recognized immediately that this was exactly the sort of candy Ms Parkinson has shared in the common room a few days back. The reason why I can remember so well is that Parkinson has never shared anything during her stay at Hogwarts – ever. Besides that it's from a very exclusive store in Lucerne, so I doubt that any other students would have had access to this particular sweet. The Parkinsons have spent their Christmas holidays in Switzerland."

McGonagall nodded thoughtfully. "But how did you KNOW that it was Mr Malfoy and not one of the other Slytherins?

"Well, as you all know, Mr Malfoy is Bellatrix' nephew. I was very positive that only a person she trusted would have been able to survive long enough around her to hex her. After Rudolphus death I'm sure that she wanted revenge. She would have killed everybody else instantly, so I was sure that only a family member could have been the culprit. So the combination of the wrapper and this insight in the mad woman's behaviour, led me directly to Malfoy"

"Have you decided on a punishment for Mr Malfoy, Severus?" Dumbledore inquired.

The old wizard was highly impressed about the combination skills of his potion master. He was very relieved that this could have been solved so quickly.

"Well, he will serve detention with me tonight"

Minerva pinched her lips to a thin line, obviously less than pleased and satisfied with this decision, but this was a house intern matter so she shouldn't interfere.

"Very well then Severus. Is there anything else we need to discuss?" she asked him curtly.

"Yes there is. Mr Malfoy has told me that Bellatrix has used the floo network."

Dumbledore looked over the top of his half-moon spectacles and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Minerva, please inform Arthur Weasley immediately. We need to change our floo net connection immediately and after classes today I want every staff member in this office. We need to put up whole new wards before it's too late"

It's been a long time since Severus had hurt the voice of the old wizard being so determined and strong.

"If you'll excuse me, I have classes to prepare for"

With a curt nod he left the office, his robes billowing behind him.